You took a drag of your cigarette before placing it on the table and organizing some papers. The Den had closed for the day and it was just you and Scudboat left, while the Shelby's were having a meeting at the Garrison. You placed the papers in the proper pile and walked over to Scudboat. "How're we looking?" He smirked. "Pretty good, (Y/N)." You smiled and patted his shoulder before walking over to the whiteboard. You heard the faint sound of shuffling and turned around; Scudboat looked at you and you shrugged your shoulders. "John?" He called out but you only heard silence. Scudboat went back to counting after a moment and you began to clean the board when the doors busted open. Men swarmed the room and Scudboat stood up. He went to get a weapon but was hit from behind; they continued to beat him before a few noticed you. "Well, what have we got here?" You pulled your gun out and managed to hit one in the shoulder but it wasn't enough to kill him. "Fuck." You whispered. You went to shoot again but one of the men punched you in the face. You groaned as you hit the wall; you could taste blood in your mouth and hoped you didn't lose any teeth. You spat on the floor and straightened yourself up. "Oh? We got a feisty one here, boys. I'll enjoy breaking you." He reached for you and you landed a punch square on his nose. He fell back and let out a string of curses. "You fucking bitch." He said and lunged along with another man. They managed to grab you and you screamed. "Let go! Fucking get off!" You screamed and tried to fight them off but you were getting nowhere. They pushed you against the wall and you saw stars when your head slammed against it. "The Shelbys can't help you now, sweetheart." One of them whispered in your ear and you bit him. He screamed and let you go so he could grab his ear; You gagged and spit on the floor. "You're gonna die for that one." The other man said and landed a number of punches to you. "Leave her alone!" Scudboat yelled but he was knocked down. "They're coming! The Shelby's are coming back!" Someone yelled and you were thrown back. You watched as they scurried like rats towards the door; you managed to crawl over to your gun and shoot off a round into the back of one of the retreating figures before dropping to the floor. You wheezed as you tried to take a deep breath. "Scudboat? Don't be fucking dead." You called out. You heard shuffling and looked up to see Scudboat stumbling as he made his way to you. "John's gonna fucking kill me." He said. You groaned as he helped you sit up and propped you against the wall. "I don't look that bad." You joked. Before he could respond, you heard yelling followed by the door slamming open and running. "(Y/N)! Fucking Answer me!" "She's over here!" John appeared around the corner and froze at the sight of you. "Do I really look that bad?" You said before trying to stand. John rushed over and helped you up before looking over your body. "Who fucking did this? Hmm?" You swayed a little but John put his hands firmly on your hips. "It was the fucking Lees." Scudboat said and you felt John's grip tighten. "Easy, John Boy. I'm a little worse for wear." He lightened his grip. He ran a hand over your face and you watched anger strike across his features as he took in the blood and bruises that littered your face. He began to lift your shirt up but you pushed your hands away. "Not here, John." "You just took a fucking beating, (Y/N). I need to see how bad they got you." He tried to lift your shirt again but you pushed his hands away. "And I said not here." He opened his mouth to say something but Tommy cut him off. "Nobody move." You both looked over and saw Tommy was holding a pair of wire cutters. "Why?" Polly said as she took a few steps. "Aunt Pol stop moving! Don't move!" She stopped. "Tommy?" You called and he looked at you. "In France, we would plant hand grenades behind us and leave wire cutters as a joke." You took in a short breath and John tightened his grip. "Somewhere in here is a live grenade." John stated. Everyone looked around and Tommy frowned. "They wanted to get to me. Where would they put-" He stopped and ran out the building. "Does that mean we can move now?" Polly asked. "I wouldn't Just in case." Arthur replied. Suddenly, there was a loud explosion outside and John pulled you tight against him. You felt the house shake and held onto John tighter. "I've got you, I've got you." He whispered. When it settled, you slowly pulled apart and looked around. "Where's Tommy?" You asked. You took a step towards the stairs when Tommy entered the room holding a very upset Finn. Polly rushed towards him and you sighed in relief. "Good. Now I think I need to get cleaned up." You groaned as you felt a headache pounding against your skull. "Come on, love." John said as he helped you up the stairs and onto an empty bed. He reached for your shirt and you let him push it up to reveal your very bruised abdomen. "I'll kill em. I'll kill em all." John whispered angrily and you grabbed his hand. "I know you will. Please, just help me get fixed up." You groaned as you tried to sit up. "Stop moving, (Y/N)." You frowned and John went back to cleaning your face. You simply watched him as he cleaned the blood first from your face, then your knuckles, and finally removed the blood stained shirt you were wearing. He went to the dresser and handed one of his shirts to you. He tossed it to you, where it landed on your lap, and you slowly put it on. "I should have been here." You looked up and saw John with his back to you and his hands on his hips. "I should have fucking been here, not at the fucking Garrison." "John-" "I couldn't protect you." "John, look at me." He slowly turned to look at you and a tear crept down your cheek. "Nobody could have thought this was going to happen. They just got lucky, but you'll get them back. Please, don't blame yourself." He sighed and got into bed with you; he wrapped an arm around you, making sure he was careful not to hurt you, and you rested your head on his chest. "I love you, (Y/N)." He said while playing with your hair. "I love you too, John."
